User identifiable dart pin

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is a dart pin according to an embodiment of the present disclosure to implement the aforementioned object. The dart pin includes: a tip forming one end of the dart pin and having one end which may contact a dart target of a dart game apparatus; a barrel of which one end is coupled with the other end of the tip to form a body of the dart pin; a shaft of which one end is coupled with the other end of the barrel; and a flight forming the other end of the dart pin and having one end coupled with the other end of the shaft, and herein, a user identification module may be coupled to one of the tip, the barrel, the shaft, and the flight.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a dart system, and more particularly,to a dart pin including a user identification module.

BACKGROUND ART

In general, a dart pin refers to a “small arrow” and a dart game is agame that involves scoring points by throwing an arrow-shaped dart pinto a circular target marked with figures. A dart game has an advantagein that anybody can enjoy the dart game anytime and anywhere if only anarrow-headed dart pin and a dart target are available. In recent years,as various game methods have been developed and a scoring method hasbeen organized, the dart game has been developed as a worldwide leisure,and therefore, men and women of all ages have conveniently enjoyed thedart game.

In general, participants of the dart game need to participate in thegame at the same time and in the same space in order to enjoy the dartgame. However, with development of communication technology, electronicdart game apparatuses have been developed in which each of theparticipants of the dart game may remotely participate in the dart gameso as to participate in the game over temporal and spatial constraintsand remotely transmit a play result or a play process thereof through acommunication network. The electronic dart game apparatuses mayelectrically sense a hitting point of the dart target and automaticallyaggregate scores and provide the aggregated scores to a player.

However, most of the existing technologies related to such a dart gamesystem just describe the dart game apparatus and a dart game server, andan approach to provide a better user experience by strengthening theshape and function of the dart pin is not actually made.

INVENTION Technical Problem

The present disclosure has been made in an effort to increase a user'sexperience in playing a dart game by enhancing the shape and function ofa dart pin.

Technical Solution

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a dart pin in order toimplement the aforementioned object. The dart pin includes: a tipforming one end of the dart pin and having one end which may contact adart target of a dart game apparatus; a barrel of which one end iscoupled with the other end of the tip to form a body of the dart pin; ashaft of which one end is coupled with the other end of the dart barrel;and a flight forming the other end of the dart pin and having one endcoupled with the other end of the shaft, and herein, a useridentification module may be coupled to one of the tip, the barrel, theshaft, and the flight.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a dart gameapparatus. The dart game apparatus may include: a dart target capable ofaccommodating a thrown dart pin; a network connection unit forcommunication with a dart game server through a network; and a userrecognition unit communicating with a user identification module coupledwith the dart pin to receive data included in a user identificationmodule of the dart pin.

Advantageous Effects

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, since the shapeand function of a dart pin can be enhanced, a user's experience can beincreased when playing a dart game.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a dart game apparatus according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the dart game apparatus according to theembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual view of a dart game network including a pluralityof dart game apparatuses and servers according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4A exemplarily illustrates the shape of a dart pin according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B exemplarily illustrates the shape of a dart pin according toanother embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4C exemplarily illustrates the shape of a dart pin according to yetanother embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 illustrates operations performed among components in a dart gamesystem according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a dart pin and a dart game apparatus according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

BEST MODE

Various embodiments will now be described with reference to the drawingsand similar reference numerals are used to represent similar elementsthroughout the drawings. In the specification, various descriptions arepresented to provide appreciation of the present disclosure. However, itis apparent that the embodiments can be executed without the specificdescription. In other examples, known structures and apparatuses arepresented in a block diagram form in order to facilitate description ofthe embodiments.

‘Component’, “module”, “system”, and the like which are terms used inthe specification designate a computer-related entity, hardware,firmware, software, and a combination of the software and the hardware,or execution of the software. For example, the component may be aprocessing process executed on a processor, the processor, an object, anexecution thread, a program, and/or a computer, but is not limitedthereto. For example, both an application executed in a computing deviceand the computing device may be the components. One or more componentsmay reside in the processor and/or the execution thread and onecomponent may be localized in one computer or distributed among two ormore computers. Further, the components may be executed by variouscomputer-readable media having various data structures, which are storedtherein. The components may perform communication through local and/orremote processing according to a signal (for example, data transmittedfrom one component, which interacts with other components in a localsystem and a distribution system, to another system through a networksuch as the Internet) having one or more data packets, for example.

The description of the presented embodiments is provided so that thoseskilled in the art of the present disclosure use or implement thepresent disclosure. Various modifications of the embodiments will beapparent to those skilled in the art and general principles definedherein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from thescope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure isnot limited to the embodiments presented herein, but should be analyzedwithin the widest range which is consistent with the principles and newfeatures presented herein.

The terms “dart” and “dart pin” used in the specification may be usedinterchangeably. Moreover, the terms “player” and “user” used in thespecification may also be used interchangeably. Moreover, the terms“point” and “area” used in the specification may also be usedinterchangeably.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a dart game apparatus according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

The dart game apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may include a dart target (alternatively, dart board) 110, asensing unit 120, a user input unit 130, an output unit 140, a cameraunit 150, a network connection unit 160, a user recognition unit 170, amemory 180, a controller 190, and the like. The components illustratedin FIG. 1 are not required. Therefore, a dart game apparatus having morecomponents than or less components than illustrated in FIG. 1 may beimplemented. Hereinafter, the components will be described in sequence.

The dart target 110 may include a score board in which a bullseye ispositioned at the center and there are areas segmented by concentriccircles centered at the bullseye and straight lines extending radiallyfrom the bullseye and individual scores are assigned to the areas,respectively. Multiple holes into which a tip of a dart may be insertedmay be formed on the score board.

The dart target 110 includes a display 142 to be described below tovariably change score deployments of the dart target 110 and shapes ofareas to which the scores are assigned. In this case, the dart target110 includes a light transmissive touch pad in the display 142 to bestacked to take a form of a touch screen.

The sensing unit 120 may sense a play of a dart game user performed withrespect to the dart target 110. That is, when the dart pin is thrown bythe user and reaches the dart target 110, the sensing unit 120 may sensewhich part of the dart target 110 the dart pin reaches. The sensing unit120 may enable a play of an actual user to be evaluated. The sensingunit 120 may sense which area of the dart target 110 a thrown dart pinhits or immediately convert the hitting into the score, with respect toa play in which the user throws the dart pin. The sensing unit 120electrically converts a score corresponding to the area which the dartpin hits to transmit the converted score to the controller 190.Alternatively, the sensing unit 120 may transmit an electrical signalcorresponding to the region where the dart pin hits to the controller190 and herein, the controller 190 may calculate a score correspondingto the electrical signal.

The user input unit 130 receives an input of the user for controllingthe dart game apparatus 100. The user input unit 130 may include varioustypes of input means including a keypad, a dome switch, a touch pad(resistive/capacitive), a jog wheel, a jog switch, a keyboard, and thelike. The user input unit 130 may also include cameras 151 to 153, amicrophone, or the like. Additionally, the user input unit 130 may alsoinclude a short range communication module (not illustrated) to bedescribed below. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the userinput unit 130 may be configured to include the short rangecommunication module (not illustrated) of the network connection unit160. When the user input unit 130 includes the short range communicationmodule of the network connection unit 160, the user input unit 130 maybe configured to receive a user input which is input by an externalconsole device. As short range communication technology, Bluetooth,radio frequency identification (RFID), near field communication (NFC),infrared data association (IrDA), ultra wideband (UWB), ZigBee, or thelike may be used. For example, when the user input unit 130 performs theshort range communication using infrared communication, the externalconsole device may be an infrared remote controller. Alternatively, whenthe user input unit 130 performs the short range communication using aBluetooth function, the external console device may be a mobile deviceincluding a Bluetooth module. The mobile device including the Bluetoothmodule may be, for example, a smart phone including the Bluetoothmodule.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, when the userinput unit 130 uses the short range communication, the user input unit130 may communicate with the short distance module attached to orinserted into the dart pin.

The user may select a dart game mode, a match making request, a matchauthentication, the number of dart game players, a dart game play mode,and the like through the user input unit 130. For example, the user mayselect the number of dart game players, the dart game play mode (a zeroone game, a cricket game, a count-up game, and the like), the dart gamemode (a single play, a network play, and the like), an online/offlinematch making request, and the match approval through the user input unit130.

The user input unit 130 receives a signal by sensing a key operation ora touch input of the user or receives speech or a motion of the userthrough the cameras 151 to 153 or the microphone to convert the receivedsignal, speech, or motion into an input signal. To this end, a knownspeech recognition technology or a motion recognition technology may beused.

The output unit 140 which is used for generating an output related withsight, hearing, or touch may include the sound output unit 141, thedisplay 142, the illumination unit 143, and the like.

The sound output unit 141 may output audio data received from thenetwork connection unit 160 or stored in the memory 180 in a game soundeffect, a reward, a game motion guide, a game method description, andthe like. The sound output unit 141 may also output a sound signalrelated with a function (e.g., a game effect sound) performed by thedart game apparatus 100. The sound output unit 141 may also output aspeech of a game player or a third person using another dart gameapparatus 320 (see FIG. 3), which is received through the networkconnection unit 160. The sound output unit 141 may include a receiver, aspeaker, a buzzer, and the like. Additionally, when the dart gameapparatus 100 measures a speed of the thrown dart pin, information onthe speed and/or the reward may be output as audio information by thesound output unit 141.

The display 142 displays (outputs) information processed in the dartgame apparatus 100. For example, when the dart game apparatus 100 is ina game play mode guidance mode, the display 142 may output a selectablegame play mode. Additionally, when the dart game apparatus 100 receivesthe online/offline match making request, the display 142 may output amatch making stand-by player list. Further, when the dart game apparatus100 is playing a game, the display 142 may display the score sensedthrough the sensing unit 120 or output an image acquired byphotographing the game player or the third person using another dartgame apparatus received through the network connection unit 160.

Additionally, when the dart game apparatus 100 measures the speed of thedart pin, the display 142 may display the measured speed information ofthe dart pin or display the speed information of the dart pin of theother person and/or comparison information with previously determinedpredetermined speed information.

The display 142 may include at least one of a liquid crystal display(LCD), a thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT LCD), anorganic light-emitting diode (OLED), a flexible display, and a 3Ddisplay. Some of the displays may be configured as a transparent orlight transmissive type to view the outside through the displays. Thismay be called a transparent display and a representative example of thetransparent display includes a transparent OLED (TOLED), and the like.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, according to animplementation form of the dart game apparatus 100, two or more displays142 may exist. For example, in the dart game apparatus 100, theplurality of displays may be separated from each other or integrallydisposed on one surface, and further, disposed on different surfaces,respectively. For example, the display 142 may include both a displaydisposed at an upper end of the dart target 110 and a display disposedat a lower end of the dart target 110, or may include one displaythereof. However, a location where the aforementioned displays aredisposed is an example, and the display may be disposed at variouslocations for a demand due to a design or a visual effect.

The touch sensor may be configured to convert a change in pressureapplied to a specific portion of the display 142 or capacitancegenerated at the specific portion of the display 142 into an electricalinput signal. The touch sensor may be configured to detect touchpressure as well as a touched position and area. When there is a touchinput for the touch sensor, a signal(s) corresponding to the touch inputis(are) sent to a touch controller. The touch controller processes thesignal(s) and thereafter, transmits data corresponding thereto to thecontroller 190. As a result, the controller 190 may recognize which areaof the display 142 is touched.

The illumination unit 143 outputs a signal for notifying occurrence ofan event of the dart game apparatus 100. Examples of the event whichoccurs from the dart game apparatus 100 include identification of thedart game player, winning or losing of the game, direct hit of the dart,a change of the dart game player, game over, and the like. Theillumination unit 143 may include a light emission diode (LED) andnotify the occurrence of the event to the user through flickering of theLED. The LEDs are disposed on the bottom of the dart target 110 to beflickered according to a flickering pattern which is pre-storedaccording to the occurrence of the event. For example, one or more LEDsmay be allocated to respective parts of the dart target 110. Theallocated LEDs are disposed on the bottom of the dart target 110 and maybe disposed in a direction orienting the outside of the dart gameapparatus 100. When the LEDs irradiate light, the light irradiated bythe LEDs may pass through the dart target 110 made of a transparent ortranslucent material to transfer a visual output to the user.Alternatively, the light irradiated by the LEDs may transfer the visualoutput to the user through a gap existing in the dart target 110.

The output unit 140 may also output another form other than a videosignal or an audio signal, for example, a signal for notifying theoccurrence of the event by vibration. In the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the output unit 140 may includethe sound output unit 141, the display 142, and the illumination unit143. For example, the output unit 140 may output the information on themeasured speed of the dart pin and/or the reward therefor by variousmethods.

The camera unit 150 includes multiple cameras 151 to 153, and as aresult, an image frame processed by the cameras 151 to 153 may be storedin the memory 180 or transmitted to the outside through the networkconnection unit 160. The camera unit 150 may be constituted by onecamera or constituted by two or more cameras according to a useenvironment.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the camera unit 150 may bedisposed to photograph two or more points on a movement route of thedart pin. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the camera unit150 may include a plurality of cameras and the respective cameras may bedisposed to photograph point(s) corresponding thereto, respectively.When the plurality of cameras exists, the speed of the dart pin may bemeasured by using the plurality of cameras. The information on themeasured speed may be transferred to the controller 190 or the memory180.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, at least some cameras ofthe camera unit 150 may be disposed to photograph an image frameincluding the dart target 110 and other cameras may be disposed tophotograph an image frame directly related with a game rule in the dartgame play. For example, the camera may be disposed to photograph athrow-line on which the dart is thrown in order to photograph the imageframe directly related with the dart game rule. The multiple cameras 151to 153 included in the camera unit 150 may be disposed to photograph atleast some image frames to overlap with each other. In the embodiment ofthe present disclosure, when the camera unit 150 includes one camera,the camera may be a panoramic camera disposed to photograph both atleast a part of the dart target 110 and the image frame (e.g., thethrow-line in the dart game) directly related with the game rule.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the camera unit 150 may bedisposed to photograph a part of the throw line and/or the playertogether with two or more points on the movement route of the dart pin.Alternatively, the camera unit 150 may be disposed to photograph atleast a part of the dart target 110 together with two or more points onthe movement route of the dart pin. The purpose may be to determine anillegal action of the player and to measure the speed of the dart pin.The camera unit 150 may perform the above-described photographingthrough one camera or may perform the above-described photographingthrough a plurality of cameras.

For example, in playing the dart game, illegal actions may be roughlyclassified into two aspects. As a first aspect, an action in which theplayer crosses the throw line may be provided as an example and as asecond aspect, an action in which the player personally presses the darttarget may be provided as an example. In the present disclosure, twocameras so as to determine both of two types of illegal actions may beused, in which one camera may photograph an operation of the playerincluding a throw line and the other camera may photograph the darttarget. Accordingly, since the above-described technical feature of thepresent disclosure may not only check whether the player just plays thegame over the throw line, but also determine whether the player or thethird person personally presses the dart game target, fairness andreliability may be ensured in enjoying the dart game.

Accordingly, the dart game apparatus 100 may maximize the entertainmentside while ensuring the reliability and fairness of the dart game byefficiently using one or more cameras.

Further, the number, arrangement, and angle directions of cameras in thedart game apparatus 100 may be changed based on the dart game mode, thecharacteristics and size of the dart game apparatus, user setting, anduser information. For example, only one camera may be disposed tophotograph the entire moving area of the dart pin.

The network connection unit 160 may include one or more modules thatenable wireless communication between the dart game apparatus 100 and awired/wireless communication system or between the dart game apparatus100 and a network on which the dart game apparatus 100 is positioned. Inthe embodiment of the present disclosure, the network connection unit160 may include a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The networkconnection unit 160 may include a wired/wireless Internet module foraccessing the network. As the wireless Internet technology, wireless LAN(WLAN) (Wi-Fi), wireless broadband (Wibro), world interoperability formicrowave access (Wimax), high speed downlink packet access (HSDPA), orthe like, may be used. As wired Internet technology, digital subscriberline (XDSL), fibers to the home (FTTH), power line communication (PLC),or the like may be used.

Further, the network connection unit 160 includes a short-rangecommunication module to transmit and receive data to and from anelectronic apparatus positioned in a comparatively short range from thedart game apparatus 100 and including the short-range communicationmodule. As short range communication technology, Bluetooth, radiofrequency identification (RFID), NFC, infrared data association (IrDA),ultra wideband (UWB), ZigBee, and the like may be used.

Further, the network connection unit 160 may communicate with a dartgame server. For example, when the short range communication module ofthe dart game apparatus 100 receives user information or identificationinformation on the dart pin via the short range communication moduleattached to or inserted into the dart pin, the network connection unit160 communicates with the dart game server to receive or retrieve theuser information or identification information for the dart pin from theserver.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the network connection unit160 may sense a connection state of the network and a transceiving speedof the network. Data received through the network connection unit 160may be output through the output unit 140, stored through the memory180, or transmitted to other electronic apparatuses positioned in ashort range through the short range communication module.

In addition, when the dart game apparatus 100 measures the speed of thedart pin, the information on the speed of the dart pin may betransmitted to a mobile or a PC of the player based on theidentification information of the player by the network connection unit160.

The user recognition unit 170 recognizes unique information of a longrange user by using a radio wave through the radio frequencyidentification (RFID) technology, an NFC technology, or the like whichis a kind of short range communication technology. For example, the usermay possess a card, a mobile terminal, or unique dart game equipment,for example, his/her own personal dart equipment (for example, the dartpin), which includes an RFID module. Information (e.g., a personal ID,an identification code, and the like of the user registered in thedatabase server (DB) (see FIG. 2)) for identifying the user may berecorded in the user identification module possessed by the user. Thedart game apparatus 100 identifies the user identification modulepossessed by the user to identify a dart game user which plays the gameby using the dart game apparatus 100 and update a database for theidentified dart game player or accumulate new data. In the embodiment ofthe present disclosure, the user recognition unit 170 may be integratedin the user input unit 130.

The user recognition unit 170 may include various technologies (e.g.,short range communication technology such as Bluetooth, and the like orshort range communication technology using an IC chip) that may transmitand receive unique information of the user by a contact/non-contactmethod in addition to the RFID technology. Further, the user recognitionunit 170 may include a biodata identification module that identifiesbiodata (speech, a fingerprint, and a face) of the player byinterworking with the microphone of the user input unit 130, the touchpad, the camera unit 150, and the like.

The memory 180 may store a program for a motion of the controller 190therein and temporarily or permanently store input/output data (e.g., aphone book, a message, a still image, a moving picture, or the like)therein. The memory 180 may store data regarding various patterns ofvibrations and sounds output during the touch input on the touch screen.The memory 180 may include at least one type of storage medium of aflash memory type storage medium, a hard disk type storage medium, amultimedia card micro type storage medium, a card type memory (forexample, an SD or XD memory, or the like), a random access memory (RAM),a static random access memory (SRAM), a read-only memory (ROM), anelectrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), aprogrammable read-only memory (PROM), a magnetic memory, a magneticdisk, and an optical disk. The dart game apparatus 100 may operate inconnection with a web storage performing a storing function of thememory 180 on the Internet.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the memory 180 may store atleast some of photographed data acquired by photographing at least twopoints on the movement route of the dart pin. In addition, the memory180 may store the user information or identification information of thedart pin according to a user identification module coupled to the dartpin. In addition, the memory 180 may delete photographed data which isnot loaded by another component or another device such as the controller190, and the like among the stored photographed data after apredetermined time.

In an additional embodiment of the present disclosure, the informationwhich may be stored in the memory 180 may include a record for eachuser's personal recording contest/time/place/game type, a game recordfor each dart pin of the user, a game record (when a separaterecognition means and a separate recognition number are granted to a pinand a barrel) for each pin-barrel combination of the user, speed/gamerecord information for each used dart pin of the user, and the like.

The controller 190 generally controls all motions of the dart gameapparatus 100. For example, in the case of the dart game, the scoresensed through the sensing unit 120 is collected for each gameparticipant, the collected score is transmitted to and received fromanother dart game apparatus 200 connected through the network, and agame winning/losing record, the score, and the like according to thecollected result are recorded. The controller 190 may perform patternrecognition processing to recognize a motion input, a write input, andthe like performed on the touch screen or camera as a text or an image.Further, the controller may perform speech recognition by using aspeech-to-text (STT) function to recognize the speech input through themicrophone as text.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller 190determines time frame data for each of at least two points at leastpartially based on a time when the dart pin reaches the dart target andloads photographed data corresponding to the determined time frame data,respectively to calculate the speed of the dart pin. Herein, the timeframe data may be determined with respect to the respective pointsbefore the time when the dart pin reaches the dart target based on atleast one of the time when the dart pin reaches the dart target, averagespeed information of the dart pin, and distance information among thepoints. For example, a time which is earlier than the time when the dartpin reaches the dart target by 0.02 seconds may be determined withrespect to one point (for example, a first point) and a time which isearlier than the time when the dart pin reaches the dart target by 0.01second may be determined with respect to another point (for example, asecond point).

Additionally, the controller 190 may calculate the speed of the dart pinby determining a distance difference between the points from the loadedphotographed data and a time difference between the time frame data forthe respective points. For example, the speed (for example, 10 m/s) ofthe dart pin may be determined based on a distance difference (forexample, 30 cm) between the predetermined points (for example, the firstpoint and the second point) and a time difference (for example, 0.03seconds) between the photographed data acquired by photographing thepoints. That is, the controller 190 may calculate the speed of the dartpin by V=ΔD÷ΔT. Herein, V may mean the speed of the dart pin, T may meanthe time difference between the photographed data for the respectivepoints, and ΔD may mean the distance difference between the points.

Alternatively, the controller 190 may calculate the speed of the dartpin by V=(ΔD×COS θ)÷ΔT. Herein, θ may mean a snaking angle of the dartpin. That is, the movement route of the thrown dart pin may have a curveshape. Accordingly, the controller 190 corrects the snaking angle of thedart pin by analyzing the loaded photographed data value of the dart pinto more accurately determine the speed of the dart pin.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the controller 190 maygenerate statistical data for each dart pin based on the data receivedby the user recognition unit of the dart game apparatus. Further, thecontroller 190 may determine providing an additional reward based on thedata received by the user recognition unit of the dart game apparatus.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, when the controller 190senses that the capacity of the memory is exceeded, the controller 190may allow the image to be deleted in order from the oldest image amongthe photographed data stored in the memory 180. In addition, thecontroller 190 may control the memory 180 to delete the unloadedphotographed data after a specific time period.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, since the controller 190 may communicate withall of the above-mentioned other components, the controller 190 mayorganically control operations of the corresponding components.

Various embodiments described herein may be implemented in acomputer-readable recording medium or a recording medium readable by adevice similar to the computer by using, for example, software,hardware, or a combination thereof. According to hardwareimplementation, the embodiment described herein may be implemented byusing at least one of ASICs (application specific integrated circuits),DSPs (digital signal processors), DSPDs (digital signal processingdevices), PLDs (programmable logic devices), FPGAs (field programmablegate arrays), processors, controllers, micro-controllers,microprocessors, and electric units for performing other functions. Insome cases, the embodiments described in the specification may beimplemented by the controller 190 itself. According to softwareimplementation, embodiments such as a procedure and a function describedin the specification may be implemented by separate software modules.Each of the software modules may perform one or more functions andoperations described in the specification. A software code may beimplemented by a software application written by an appropriate programlanguage. The software code may be stored in the memory 180 and executedby the controller 190.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the dart game apparatus according to theembodiment of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the dart game apparatus 100 according to theembodiment of the present disclosure may be formed by mounting thecomponents illustrated in FIG. 1 in a housing H. The dart target 110,the display 142, the illumination unit 143, the sound output unit 141,the camera unit 150, and the user recognition unit 170 may be disposedon the front surface of the dart game apparatus 100.

The dart target 110 may be disposed so that a dead center is positionedat a position (for example, 5 feet 8 inches in a vertical direction fromthe ground) according to a rule of the dart game. The illumination units143-1, 143-2, and 143-3 may be disposed at various parts of the dartgame apparatus 100 to transfer various and variable visual effects tothe player of the dart game apparatus 100. For example, the illuminationunit 143-1 is disposed at the side of the dart target 110 and may serveto irradiate an illumination to the dart target 110. The illuminationunit 143-1 may also output a predetermined illumination effect accordingto an event of the dart game. Further, the illumination unit 143-1 mayoutput illumination effects having various colors.

The illumination unit 143-2 may be formed to be extended in a verticaldirection along a forward projection of the housing H. Like theillumination unit 143-1, the illumination unit 143-2 may output apredetermined illumination effect according to an event of the dart gameand output illumination effects having various colors.

The illumination unit 143-3 may be disposed on the top and/or the sideof the housing H. The illumination unit 143-3 may output a predeterminedillumination effect according to an event of the dart game and outputillumination effects having various colors. Particularly, theillumination unit 143-3 may output an illumination effect for an eventrelated with the user recognition unit.

Selectively, the dart game apparatus 100 may be selectively connectedwith another dart game apparatus and include a dart plate P which isextended in a horizontal direction. The dart plate P may further includean illumination unit 143-4. The dart plate P may be integrally coupledwith or selectively attached to or detached from the dart game 100.

When the dart plate P is integrally coupled with or selectively attachedto the dart game apparatus 100, the dart plate P may be electricallyconnected with the dart game apparatus 100. The illumination unit 143-4of the dart game apparatus 100 may be disposed along the outside of thedart plate P as illustrated in FIG. 3. One end of the dart plate P maybe extended to a place where a throw-line is to be positioned accordingto a distance of the throw-line from the dart target according to a ruleof the game. The illumination unit 143-4 may be disposed at a positioncorresponding to the throw-line.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 2, an illumination unit (notillustrated) is disposed at the bottom of the dart target 110 toirradiate an illumination effect in a user (player) direction. Theillumination unit (not illustrated) may include a combination ofdifferent illumination elements allocated according to each segmentconfiguring the dart target.

The housing H of the dart game apparatus 100 may include the display 142disposed in the user direction. The display 142 may display informationrequired for the user according to the progress of the dart game (forexample, a collected score, information on a player which is playing thegame, a score required for clearing the corresponding game, informationof an opposite player which does not play the game, information on aspeed of the dart pin, information of comparison of the speed of thedart pin, and the like). The display 142 may display a visual effectaccording to an event depending on the progress of the dart game. Forexample, when the user continuously hits a bullseye at the dead centerof the dart target 100 with three dart throw chances, the display 142may display a pre-stored motion picture corresponding to thecorresponding event. The motion picture may be stored in the memory 180of the dart game apparatus 100) or received from a server through thenetwork connection unit 160.

The display 142 may provide the user with visual and audible effectsaccording to occurrence of the event by interlocking with theillumination units 143-1, 143-2, 143-3, and 143-4 and the sound outputunit 141. In other words, when a predetermined event occurs, the display142, the illumination units 143-1, 143-2, 143-3, and 143-4, and thesound output unit 141 may output an illumination effect, a displayeffect, and a sound effect with respect to the corresponding eventtogether.

In FIG. 2, it is illustrated that the displays 142 are disposed at thelower end of the dart target 110, but the number and disposed positionsof displays 142 may be variously modified.

The user input unit 130 may be configured in a key pad button form asillustrated in FIG. 2. However, as described above, the user input unit130 may be configured by various types including a touch screen. Theuser operates a key button of the user input unit 130 to select a modeof a game to be played by the user, an offline matching request, and thematch approval.

The sound output unit 141 is also disposed on the front surface of thehousing H of the dart game apparatus 100 to output a sound. The numberand disposed positions of sound output units 141 may also be variouslymodified.

The camera unit 150 may be mounted on the top of the housing H of thedart game apparatus 100 as illustrated in FIG. 2. The position at whichthe camera unit 150 is disposed may be variable. The camera unit 150 mayinclude one or more cameras 151 to 153 which may photograph the darttarget 110 and the throw line. The image photographed through the cameraunit 150 may be transferred to the memory 180. Alternatively, the imagephotographed through the camera unit 150 may be transferred to theserver or another dart game apparatus through the network connectionunit 160. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, only some of themotion pictures photographed by the camera unit 150 may be finallystored in the memory 180 or transferred to the server through thenetwork connection unit 160.

Although not illustrated in FIG. 2, the user recognition unit 170 may bedisposed at various locations of the front surface of the housing H ofthe dart game apparatus 100 and include the short range communicationmodule. The user throws the dart pin to which the user identificationmodule is coupled to complete the user authentication. Additionally, theuser touches a card for recognizing the user near the user recognitionunit 170 to complete the user authentication.

The contents illustrated in FIG. 2 and the description of the exteriorof the aforementioned dart game apparatus 100 are just an exampleproposed for description, and the dart game apparatus 100 according tothe present disclosure is not limited by the exterior illustrated inFIG. 2.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual view of a dart game network including a pluralityof dart game apparatuses and servers according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, a dart game apparatus 310 used by a firstplayer P1 may be connected with one or more servers (a media server MS,a replay server RS, and a dart game server GS) through the network.

Multiple users may enjoy the game in the same space at the same time byusing the same first dart game apparatus 310. However, when a secondplayer P2 positioned at a remote range from the first player P1 intendsto participate in the dart game, the second dart game player P2 isconnected with one or more servers (the media server MS, the replayserver RS, and the game server GS) through the network by using a seconddart game apparatus 320 to transmit and receive information to and fromthe first dart game apparatus 310, thereby performing the game.

The first dart game apparatus 310 and the second dart game apparatus 320may transmit and receive information via one or more servers (the mediaserver MS, the replay server RS, and the game server GS) or the dartgame apparatuses 310 and 320 may directly transmit and receive theinformation therebetween.

The game may be performed by differentiating places at which bothplayers P1 and P2 play at the same time or performed by a method inwhich both players P1 and P2 play the dart game at different places atdifferent time and decide winning/losing or a ranking by storing playcontents in the DB server DB. In the embodiment of the presentdisclosure, one or more various numbers of players may participate inone game.

The media server MS may store game play moving pictures of the dart gameplayers P1 and P2, which are stored by using the camera or themicrophone stored in the dart game apparatuses 310 and 320. In theembodiment of the present disclosure, the media server MS may beincluded in the DB server DB.

The replay server RS may store dart game execution moving pictures ofthe users. The stored moving pictures are transmitted to the dart gameapparatus according to requests of the users to be replayed in the dartgame apparatus. The replay server RS may be included in the DB server.

Further, although not illustrated, in the additional embodiment of thepresent disclosure, the relay server may connect or relay datacommunication between the plurality of dart game apparatuses 310 and320. The relay server forms a communication network among the pluralityof dart game apparatuses 310 and 320 positioned at the remote range toallow a peer-to-peer (P2P) network to be formed.

The game server GS may exchange information (a score acquired by eachgame player, the speed information of the dart pin, the userinformation, dart pin identification information, and information formutual communication among the respective game players) between the dartgame apparatuses 310 and 320, transmit an advantage or a warning basedon a game rule through the respective dart game apparatuses 310 and 320,or in addition, perform transmission and reception of informationrequired to perform the dart game and control of the dart gameapparatuses 310 and 320. The game server GS aggregates winning/losing ofthe game and scores of the respective game participants 310 and 320, theaverage speed information of the dart pin, and the like to transmit theaggregated winning/losing of the game, scores, and average speedinformation to the DB server.

The DB server may store personal information of the respective gameparticipants 310 and 320, the winning/losing of the game, and the speedinformation of the dart pin, the ranking information, the scoreinformation for each game, or a replay moving picture for each game. TheDB server may store the information segmented for each user. The DBserver may grant a unique code to each user and manage information foreach user by using the unique code. The unique code may be stored in theuser identification module (the NFC, the dart pin to which the RFID orthe IC chip is coupled, an RFID card or an RFID module stored in themobile terminal) possessed by each user. As a result, the dart gameapparatuses 310 and 320 may identify each game participant through theincluded user authentication unit 170. The DB server may also grant theunique code for identification even to the respective dart gameapparatuses 310 and 320 and manage the game data for each identificationcode granted to the dart game apparatuses 310 and 320.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the user may access a webserver WS by using a mobile device (including electronic apparatusessuch as a mobile terminal, a cellular phone, a PDA, a PDP, and the like,which have a mobile communication function) 330 or a PC 340. The webserver WS may be connected with the mobile device 330 and/or the PC 340by the Internet or an Intranet. Further, the web server WS may beconnected even with the dart game apparatuses 310 and 320. The webserver WS is connected with the DB server DB to provide the game datastored in the DB server to the player.

Hereinafter, the rules of a representative dart game and stats of theplayer associated therewith will be described.

The dart game which may be executed by the dart game apparatus 100according to an embodiment of the present disclosure may include a 01game (zero-one game), a cricket game, a count-up game, a match-up mode,and the like.

The 01 game is performed by two teams (alternatively, two players)'throwing the dart to the dart target alternately one round at a time.One round includes three dart throwing motions. An object of the game isthat the sum-up of scores in each round reaches a target score (a scoreof a multiple of 100 or 1000 plus 01 point, such as 301, 501, 701, 901,1101, 1501 points, and the like). The target score and a play round maybe arbitrarily adjusted according to the number of players thatparticipate in the round.

In the cricket game, the round is performed by throwing three darts in afirst round similarly to the 01 game. The standard cricket game may beperformed by using only a bull region at the center of the dart target,and 20, 19, 18, 17, 16, and 15 point regions. When the correspondingcricket figures are hit with 3 marks, this is marked as a location ofthe player and when the corresponding cricket figures are hit with 4marks or more, scores corresponding to the figures are added up tocompete with the scores. Herein, double regions and triple regions ofthe dart target may be calculated with 2 marks and 3 marks,respectively. While the corresponding cricket figure is marked as thelocation of the player, when a counterpart of the player also marks 3 ascricket figure, the corresponding cricket figure is regarded to beclosed and no score may be added any longer. The object of the game maybe set to acquire a high score until a regulation round ends or closeall cricket figures and obtain a higher score than the counterpart.

The count-up game is a game at which the player wins who acquires thehighest score within a predetermined number of rounds.

In addition to the aforementioned games, various types of games may beplayed by the dart game apparatus 100 and the play mode of the dart gameapparatus 100) is not limited to the aforementioned game schemes. Forexample, by measuring the speed of a dart pin and utilizing the measuredspeed, a variety of additional game modes may be created. As oneexample, a game mode may be created, in which an additional point isprovided to a user who throws the dart pin at a speed value that bestmatches a predetermined speed value. Alternatively, in addition to theabove-described general game mode, after calculating the average speedsof the dart pins of famous dart game players and storing the calculatedaverage speeds in advance, data acquired by comparing the average speedof the dart pin of the general player with the speed of a specificplayer among the famous players is output to further strengthen theentertainment aspect of the dart game.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the stats of the player maybe defined according to the corresponding game rule independently fromthe winning or losing of the count-up game, the cricket game, and the 01game.

For example, points per dart (PPD) may be calculated by dividing a totalscore which the player earns by the number of dart throwing times in the01 game. Alternatively, marks per round (MPR) may be calculated bycalculating the number of marking times of the player in one round. Forexample, in the cricket game, when the player performs three dartthrowing motions in one round and the darts hit triple 15, single 19,and double 20 in the three dart throwing motions, respectively, the MPRbecomes (3+1+2)/1=6.00 (MPR). In a subsequent round, when the playerperforms three dart throwing motions and the darts hit mark fail, double18, and single 20 in the three dart throwing motions, the MPR becomes(3+1+2+0+2+1)/2=4.5 (MPR).

The PPD and the MPR as the stats of the player may also be stored aspersonal data or identification data of the player. Alternatively, inthe count-up game, an average score of the player per game, a highestscore record of the player per game, and the like may be stored as thestats of the player.

The dart game apparatus 100 may play the dart game according to thecorresponding mode and transmit a game record per player to a gameserver GS or a DB server DB. The game server GS or DB server DB maycalculate the PPD and/or MPR for each player according to thecorresponding game record and store the calculated PPD and/or MPR asaccumulated PPD and/or MPR stats of the player. Further, the game serverGS or the DB server DB may individually store the game record of theplayer. For example, in the 01 game, the count-up game, or the cricketgame which the player played in the past, the game server GS or the DBserver DB may record information on a segment part of a dart which theplayer hits with each dart pin. The game server GS or DB server DB maystore accumulated (average) PPD and/or MPR data and highest PPD and/orMPR data of the player.

The game server GS or the DB server DB may be two physically separatedservers. Alternatively, the game server GS or the DB server DB may beone physically integrated server and be distinguished according to rolesperformed in the server. Further, as described above, one server mayserve as both the game server GS and the DB server DB.

The game server GS or the DB server DB may store personal stats of theplayer and rating (alternatively, grade (class)) may be granted to theplayer according to the corresponding stats. The rating and/or grade(class) that may be granted to the player in accordance with the PPDand/or MPR may be stored as personal data or personal identificationinformation.

FIG. 4A is a diagram exemplarily illustrating the shape of a dart pin400 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

The dart pin 400 in FIG. 4A may include both a dart pin of a soft dartand a dart pin of a hard dart.

As illustrated in FIG. 4A, the dart pin 400 according to an embodimentof the present disclosure may be constituted by a tip 401, a barrel 402,a shaft 403, a flight 404 and a user identification module 405.

In addition, the shape of the dart pin 400 illustrated in FIG. 4 ismerely an example, and dart pins having various shapes may exist. Forexample, in FIG. 4A, it is illustrated that a plurality of groovesand/or protrusions exists on the outer periphery of the barrel 402, butthe shape of the barrel 402 not including the groove and/or protrusionmay also be included within the scope of the present disclosure.

The tip 401 may form one end of the dart pin 400 and one end may contactthe dart target of the dart game apparatus. That is, the tip 401 maydirectly hit the dart target (alternatively, dart board). In the case ofthe hard dart (alternatively, steel dart), the tip 401 may be made of ametallic material and in the case of the soft dart, the tip 410 may bemade of a plastic material. The tip 401 may also be referred to as ashort tip or a long tip according to the size of the tip 401 in the caseof the soft dart.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, one end of the barrel 402is coupled with the other end of the tip 401 to form a body of the dartpin 400. In general, the barrel 402 may be made of metal and may havevarious weights, materials, weight centers, cutting methods, and thelike. For example, the metal which may configure the barrel 402 mayinclude various types of metals including brass, tungsten, nickel, and acombination thereof.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the weight of the dart pin400 may depend on the shape and the material of the barrel 402. Forexample, the weight of the dart pin 400 may be 16 to 20 g (in the caseof a soft dart) or 20 to 50 g (in the case of a hard dart). The weightof the dart pin 400 is just an example and various weights may beavailable according to a user preference and the dart game rule.

Further, the barrel 402 may have various weight centers and a trajectorywhen the dart pin 400 is thrown may vary according to the location ofthe weight center of the barrel 402.

One end of the shaft 403 may be coupled with the other end of the barrel402. The shaft 403 may connect the barrel 402 and the flight 404. Theshaft 403 may have various lengths or materials and become one elementfor determining the weight center of the dart pin 400.

The flight 404 may form the other end of the dart pin 400) and one endmay be coupled with the other end of the shaft 403. The flight 404 maybe associated with a flight of the dart pin 400 and a flight trajectoryof the thrown dart pin 400 may vary according to the shape of the flight404. The flight 404 may be made of various materials including plastic,fabric, and the like.

The components 401, 402, 403, 404 and 405 of the dart pin 400 may becoupled to each other in various forms. For example, each of the barrel402 and the shaft 403 may include a female or male-shaped groove orprotrusion and as each of the barrel 402 or the shaft 403 rotatesclockwise or counterclockwise, two components may be coupled to eachother. Additionally, the components 401, 402, 403, 404, and 405 of thedart pin 400 may be connected to each other by various coupling andattachment methods including injection molding, ultrasonic fusion, andthe like.

The dart pin 400 according to the embodiment of the present disclosuremay have a user identification module 405. The user identificationmodule 405 may include the short range communication modules includingthe Bluetooth, the NFC, the RFID, the IC chip, and the microchip.

The user identification module 405 according to the embodiment of thepresent disclosure may be coupled with at least one of the tip 401, thebarrel 402, the shaft 403, and the flight 404 of the dart pin 400. Forexample, the user identification module 405 may be attached onto theouter periphery or inserted into the inside of the shaft 403. When theuser identification module 405 is inserted into the inside of the shaft403, the shaft 403 may include an opening for forming a space forinserting the user identification module 405 into the inside of theshaft 403.

As another example, the user identification module 405 may have a ringshape or a circular shape to be attached to cover the outer periphery ofthe shaft 403. When the user identification module 405 is attached ontothe outer periphery of the shaft 403, the user identification module 405may serve as a handle part of the dart pin 400 which may provide anexcellent grip feeling for the dart to the user. Alternatively, the useridentification module 405 may display the handle part of the dart pin400. The user identification module is attached on the side of one ofthe barrel 402 and the shaft 403 to display the handle part of the dartpin 400.

Further, the user identification module 405 may include a shapeattachable to/detachable from the dart pin 400.

As yet another example, the user identification module 405 may be(detachable from) attachable to a part (for example, a rear part) of theflight 404 to allow the user to control the flight trajectory or theweight center of the dart pin 400.

Accordingly, when the tip 401 of the dart pin 400 contacts the darttarget of the dart game apparatus, the user information, theidentification information, or the unique number of the dart pin 400 maybe transferred to the dart game apparatus through the useridentification module 405.

As still yet another example, the user identification module 405 mayhave a pipe shape to cover the outer periphery of the shaft 403 of thedart pin 400.

In the aforementioned example, it is described that the useridentification module 405 is coupled with the shaft 403 of the dart pin400 as an example, but the user identification module 405 may be coupledto the tip 401, the barrel 402, and/or the flight 404 of the dart pin400 in a similar method.

For example, in the case where the user identification module 405 isattached to the outer periphery of the barrel 402 made of the metalmaterial, in order to prevent an interference phenomenon of anelectromagnetic wave caused by the metallic material, a pipe orring-shaped member made of a separate nonconductive material may bebound to the outer periphery of the barrel 402 and the useridentification module 405 may be attached to the outer periphery of sucha member.

Alternatively, the user identification module 405 may be coupled tosurround the outer periphery of a portion of the component of the dartpin 400 and a separate cover is additionally coupled to surround theouter periphery of the coupled user identification module 405 to protectthe user identification module 405 from an external impact.

FIG. 4B is a diagram exemplarily illustrating the shape of a dart pinaccording to another embodiment of the present disclosure.

As illustrated in 4B, the user identification module 405 may, forexample, be coupled to a portion of a ring-shaped binding portion to becoupled to one component (for example, the shaft 403) of the dart pin400.

The aforementioned coupling method is just an example and the useridentification module 405 may be coupled to the dart pin 400 without theseparate binding portion or the user identification module 405 may becoupled to the dart pin 400 together with binding portions havingvarious shapes. That is, various coupling methods between the dart pin400 and the user identification module 405 may also exist. FIG. 4C is adiagram exemplarily illustrating the shape of a dart pin according toyet another embodiment of the present disclosure.

The example illustrated in FIG. 4C exemplarily shows that the useridentification module 405 may be inserted into a portion of the dart pin400. The user identification module 405 may be inserted into the insidesof the components 401, 402, 403, and 404 of the dart pin 400 by variousmethods.

As illustrated in FIG. 4C, when the user identification module 405 isinserted into the inside of the shaft 403, the shaft 403 may include theopening for forming the space for inserting the user identificationmodule 405 into the inside of the shaft 403.

In FIG. 4C, it is illustrated that only a part of the useridentification module 405 is inserted into the inside of the dart pin400, but the entirety of the user identification module 405 is insertedinto the inside of the dart pin 400 not to externally view the useridentification module 405. Further, the user identification module 405illustrated in FIG. 4C may be inserted to be detachable from the shaft403 of the dart pin 400.

In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the user identificationmodule 405 may be inserted into a space of a joining portion of thebarrel 402 and the shaft 403 of the dart pin 400. When the barrel 402and the shaft 403 are coupled to each other, in the case where a radiusor a diameter of one component of the barrel 402 and the shaft 403 ismanufactured with a larger size, the user identification module 405 maybe formed with a thickness as large as the difference of the radius ordiameter. As a result, as the user identification module 405 isinserted, the coupling of the barrel 402 and the shaft 403 may bestrengthened.

Although the barrel 402 and the shaft 403 have been described in theabove example, the component(s) into which the user identificationmodule 405 is inserted is(are) not limited thereto.

Additionally, the user identification module 405 may be coupled to aplurality of components among the components of the dart pin 400. Forexample, when there are a first user identification module coupled tothe barrel 402 and a second user identification module coupled to theshaft 403, a game record, speed information, user information, rewardeffect, and the like may be stored depending on a combination of thecomponents, i.e., for each barrel-shaft of the user.

FIG. 5 illustrates operations performed among components in a dart gamesystem 500 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

A dart game system 500 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure may include a dart (pin) 501, a dart game apparatus 502, anda dart game server 503.

When the user throws the dart pin 501 in playing the dart game, or whenthe dart pin 501 reaches the dart target, the identification informationof the dart pin or the user information may be transferred to the dartgame apparatus 502 through the user identification module coupled withthe dart pin 501 (504). As described above, the user authentication unitof the dart game apparatus 502 may be configured to perform the shortrange communication with the user identification module.

For example, when the user identification module 405 of the dart pin 501is implemented with the technology of the NFC, the user identificationmodule of the dart pin 501 may be a passive NFC (i.e., serve as a tag)and the user authentication unit of the dart game apparatus 502 mayinclude an active NFC (i.e., serve as a reader). In addition, both theuser identification module 405 and the user authentication unit mayoperate in an active communication mode. In this case, the userauthentication unit of the dart game apparatus 502 and the useridentification module 405 of the dart pin 501 communicate with eachother using a self-generated radio frequency (RF) field to allow P2Pcommunication.

The NFC module may operate at a frequency of, for example, 13.56 MHz,and a mode in which the NFC module may operate may include a card mode(or a card emulation mode), a Read/Write mode, a P2P mode, and the like.Herein, the card emulation mode may be implemented, for example, in sucha manner that the information stored in the user identification module405 as the passive tag is transmitted to the active reader (e.g., theuser authentication unit). As another example, the Read/Write mode maybe implemented in such a manner that the user identification module 405reads the passive tag information of the user authentication unit. Asyet another example, the P2P mode means a mode in which both the userauthentication unit of the dart game apparatus 502 and the useridentification module 405 of the dart pin 501 may actively communicatewith each other as described above.

In an additional embodiment of the present disclosure, when the useridentification module 405 and the user authentication unit areimplemented through the RFID technology, these components may operate asRFID tags and/or RFID readers. The RFID tags and the RFID readers may beconstituted by antennas and/or chips. For example, the useridentification module 405 may include the RFID tag and the userauthentication unit may include the RFID reader.

Such an RFID tag may be classified into a passive type, a semi-passivetype, and an active type depending on used power. The passive type maymean the case where data is read and communication is performed only bythe power of the reader, the semi passive type may mean the case whereself-power such as a battery, or the like is embedded in the tag and theself-power is thus used for reading the data and the power of the readeris used for the communication, and the active type may mean the casewhere the power of the tag is used for both reading the data and thecommunication. Further, the RFID tag and the RFID reader may be dividedinto low frequency identification (LFID) (120 to 140 KHz), ahigh-frequency identification (HFID) (13.56 MHz), an ultrahigh-frequency identification (UHFID) (868 to 956 MHz), and the likeaccording to a used frequency.

Referring back to FIG. 5, the dart game apparatus 502 may recognize orstore the identification information of the dart pin and/or the userinformation of the dart pin through the user authentication unit (505).Further, the dart game apparatus 502 compares information recognized orstored through the dart pin with information in the memory thereof (forexample, compares unique numbers in the information, etc.,) to extractor retrieve user information or identification information matching thedart pin.

In addition, the dart game apparatus 502 (e.g., network connection unit)may transfer the information transferred from the dart pin to the dartgame server 503 (506). In this case, the dart game server 503 mayauthenticate the user or the dart pin by retrieving the identificationinformation of the user or dart pin matching the received information(507).

Then, the dart game server 503 may transmit the information regardingthe authenticated user or dart pin to the dart game apparatus 502. Inthis case, the information transmitted from the dart game server 503 tothe dart game apparatus 502 may include various statistical informationincluding the authentication information of the user, the identificationinformation of the user, a personal record of the user, a record foreach tournament/time/place/game type, an accuracy rate, a game recordfor each dart pin of the user, the reward effect, a record for eachcomponent of the dart pin or for each combination of components, thespeed of the dart pin, and the like.

Herein, the reward effect may include rewards having various shapes bythe unit of the dart pin. For example, the reward may include outputtingan image, speech, and or video pre-stored per user (UX enhancement),providing additional scores in the case of a specific user or dart pin(score enhancement), providing a separate effect when performing aspecific mission with a specific user or dart pin (mission providing),allowing only a dart pin authenticated with respect to a specifictournament to be used (used as entry cost of a tournament), and thelike.

Then, the dart game apparatus 502 may generate or output the rewardeffect based on the information received from the server 503.Additionally, the operations of the server 503 may be implemented by thedart game apparatus 502 (e.g., controller and/or memory).

Technical features illustrated in FIG. 5 are just an example and similaroperations may be implemented by additional components (e.g., other dartgame apparatuses or other types of servers) within the dart game system500.

FIG. 6 illustrates a dart pin 601 and a dart game apparatus 100according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

When the dart pin 601 is thrown by the user, the user identificationmodule included in the dart pin 601 and a user authentication unit 602of the dart game apparatus 100 may exchange data through the short rangecommunication.

For example, when the user holds the dart pin 601 and prepares forthrowing the dart pin 601, or when the dart pin 601 is thrown or thedart pin 601 is thrown to reach the dart target, the identificationinformation included in the dart pin 601 may be transferred to the dartgame apparatus 100. In this case, the dart game apparatus 100 mayperform a log-in procedure for performing the dart game based on thetransferred identification information. That is, the log-in proceduremay be implemented through the short range communication between thedart pin 601 and the user authentication unit 602 of the dart gameapparatus 100 without a separate log-in procedure.

That is, the unique number may be assigned to each dart pin 601, such aunique number may be transferred to the dart game apparatus and theserver, and the server may retrieve a user number matching the uniquenumber to finally implement more entertainment type user recognition.Alternatively, the user information may be input in the dart pin 601,and the inputted user information may be transferred to the dart gameapparatus to recognize the user at the dart game apparatus.

Therefore, through the short range communication between the useridentification module coupled to the dart pin 601 and the userauthentication unit 602 of the dart game apparatus, it is possible toallow the user to enjoy a user experience better than the dart gameapparatus in the related art in performing the dart game.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that information andsignals may be expressed by using various different predeterminedtechnologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands,information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips which may be referred inthe above description may be expressed by voltages, currents,electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields orparticles, or predetermined combinations thereof.

Those skilled in the art of the present disclosure will appreciate thatvarious exemplary logic blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits,and algorithm steps can be implemented by electronic hardware, varioustypes of programs or design codes (designated as “software” herein foreasy description), or a combination thereof described in associationwith the embodiments disclosed herein. In order to clearly describe theintercompatibility of the hardware and the software, various exemplarycomponents, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been generallydescribed above in association with functions thereof. Whether thefunctions are implemented as hardware or software depends on designrestrictions given to a specific application and an entire system. Thoseskilled in the art of the present disclosure may implement functionsdescribed by various methods with respect to each specific application,but it should not be analyzed that the implementation determinationdeparts from the scope of the present disclosure.

Further, various embodiments presented herein may be implemented asmanufactured articles using a method, an apparatus, or a standardprogramming and/or engineering technique. The term “manufacturedarticle” includes a computer program, a carrier, or a medium which isaccessible by a predetermined computer-readable device. For example, acomputer-readable medium includes a magnetic storage device (forexample, a hard disk, a floppy disk, a magnetic strip, or the like), anoptical disk (for example, a CD, a DVD, or the like), a smart card, anda flash memory device (for example, an EEPROM, a card, a stick, a keydrive, or the like), but is not limited thereto. Further, variousstorage media presented herein include one or more devices and/or othermachine-readable media for storing information. The term“machine-readable media” includes a wireless channel and various othermedia that can store, posses, and/or transfer command(s) and/or data,but is not limited thereto.

It will be appreciated that a specific order or a hierarchical structureof steps in the presented processes is one example of exemplaryaccesses. It will be appreciated that the specific order or thehierarchical structure of the steps in the processes within the scope ofthe present disclosure may be rearranged based on design priorities.Appended method claims provide elements of various steps in a sampleorder, but it does not mean that the method claims are limited to thepresented specific order or hierarchical structure.

The description of the presented embodiments is provided so that thoseskilled in the art of the present disclosure can use or implement thepresent disclosure. Various modifications of the embodiments will beapparent to those skilled in the art and general principles definedherein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from thescope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure isnot limited to the embodiments presented herein, but should be analyzedwithin the widest range which is consistent with the principles and newfeatures presented herein.

MODE FOR INVENTION

Related contents in the best mode for carrying out the presentdisclosure are described.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present disclosure may be used for a dart game apparatus, a dartgame method, a personal authentication, a dart pin, dart game equipment,a user authentication, and the like.

1. A dart pin comprising: a tip having a first end and a second end, thefirst end of the tip contacting a dart target of a dart game device; abarrel having a first end and a second end, the first end of the barrelbeing coupled with the second end of the tip; a shaft having a first endand a second end, the first end of the shaft being coupled with thesecond end of the barrel; a flight having a first end and a second end,the first end of the flight being coupled with the second end of theshaft, and a user identification device comprising: memory configured tostore user information; and a processor configured to utilize at leastone of a Near Field Communication (NFC) and a Radio FrequencyIdentification (RFID) to communicate with the dart game device, the useridentification device being coupled to at least one of the tip, thebarrel, the shaft, and the flight of the dart Din.
 2. (canceled)
 3. Thedart pin of claim 1, further comprising a transmitter configured to,when the tip contacts the dart target of the dart game device, transmitthe user information of the dart pin to the dart game device.
 4. Thedart pin of claim 1, further comprising a transmitter configured totransfer the user information of the user identification device of thedart pin to the dart game device.
 5. The dart pin of claim 1, whereinthe user identification device is attached to a side of at least one ofthe barrel and the shaft to form a handle of the dart pin.
 6. The dartpin of claim 1, wherein the user identification device is positionedwithin the shaft.
 7. The dart pin of claim 1, wherein the useridentification device is a ring shape.
 8. The dart pin of claim 1,wherein the shaft includes an opening between the first end and thesecond end of the shaft for inserting the user identification device. 9.A dart game system comprising: a dart game server; a dart pincomprising: a tip having a first end and a second end; a barrel having afirst end and a second end, the first end of the barrel being coupledwith the second end of the tip; a shaft having a first end and a secondend, the first end of the shaft being coupled with the second end of thebarrel; a flight having a first end and a second end, the first end ofthe flight being coupled with the second end of the shaft, and a useridentification device comprising: memory configured to store userinformation; and a processor configured to utilize at least one of aNear Field Communication (NFC) and a Radio Frequency Identification(RFID) to communicate with the dart game device, the user identificationdevice being coupled to at least one of the tip, the barrel, the shaft,and the flight of the dart pin, a dart game device comprising: a darttarget configured to accommodate the dart pin; a network connectorconfigured to communicate with the dart game server through a network;and a user recognition device comprising: a transceiver configured tocommunicate with the user identification device of the dart pin; aprocessor configured to receive the user information of the useridentification device of the dart pin; and memory to store the receiveduser information of the user identification device of the dart pin. 10.The dart game system of claim 9, further comprising: a displayconfigured to output a predetermined image or moving picture based onthe user information received by the user recognition device of the dartgame device.
 11. The dart game system of claim 9, wherein the processorof the user recognition device is further configured to generatestatistical data for the dart pin based on the user information receivedby the user recognition device of the dart game device.
 12. The dartgame system of claim 9, wherein the processor of the user recognitiondevice is further configured to provide a reward based on the userinformation received by the user recognition device of the dart gamedevice.